A Bit Addis and a Bit a Dat

For most travellers to or from the West, it seems logical to add the capital of whatever given country to whatever given travel itinerary. And why not? Capitals are usually the cultural, social and economical centres of the country, more often than not with some of the greatest highlights and sites in the region. However, this is not entirely true for most countries in Africa. Sure African capitals usually have the most money, and sure they often have the most clubs and such, but they are rarely the highlight of the country. This is most certainly true for the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Addis (as it is most commonly referred to) has all the things a city of about

4 million should. Banks, hospitals, hotels and transportations options are all located in the places they should be. There is reasonable infrastructure, a decent nightlife and a fair number of dining options (although not exactly world class). Not to mention there are more churches and mosques than you can shake a stick at (not that you should shake anything at these places), plus a number of museums. Beyond that, the city houses the African Union (AU) headquarters, as it did the AU predecessor the OAU. NGOs and charities operating in the greater region often base themselves here too. It makes sense. Addis has become the region airline hub, it has a decent year-round climate, it has been politically stable for some time (a major feat for Africa) and it's wonderfully green. Plus it's a great place to pick up visas for onward travel in the area. However, while it may be a necessary evil to use the Bole International airport as a gateway into the region, there is really very little reason for the average tourist to spend much time there.

Considering the splendour of the rest of Ethiopia's natural, cultural

and historical diversity, Addis simply pales in comparison. There are no landmarks of note, few architectural high points and you need to pay to get into a number of the parks. The churches and cathedrals in the city are nice enough, and it is interesting to see the fervour with with Orthodox Ethiopians practice their faith. But really, once you've seen one, you've seen them all. To make matters worse, simply walking through the streets is an awful lot of hassle. In a country with a combination of rampant poverty and uninformed, bleeding heart tourists, the poor see foreigners as walking ATMs (DO NOT give money to beggars, it does NOT help). Touts and wheeler-dealers seek to squeeze anything out of your wallet possible. Plus there is a high incidence of pickpockets as 2 guests at my hotel sadly found out. Even with all it's trendy cafes and such, Addis can be tiring.

Arguably the single greatest attraction in the city is a market called

Merkato. Often touted as the largest open air market in Africa, Merkato is rather large. Covering an area over several square kilometres, there are some 7,000 shops, stalls and street matts employing around 13,000 people. Those are certainly big numbers. And the history of the place is interesting. Basically, the Italians (back in the day) didn't like mixing with the locals at St. George Market (just down the road). So they told the locals they had to do their business somewhere else. Thus, the Addis Merkato was born. But, having lived in the Middle East for a while, plus living along the Silk Road for ages, i found the Addis Merkato exceptionally under-whelming. It felt more like a shopping area than a market (if you get the difference). It did not feel exotic at all. While there were a few places to buy souvenirs (mostly made in China), it was in large part a place to pick up plastic wash basins and rope and such (also made in China) There was plenty of hassle and this is where the tourists were pick-pocketed (i mentioned earlier). I was not impressed.

Addis is not a bad place, but it's not a good place either. It's just a place. Get your visas, get you guide then get out.